1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates primarily to toilets and water closets with their associated hardware, and more specifically to toilet fill valves and hardware associated with mounting those valves in a toilet tank.
2. Discussion of the Prior Art
Toilets and water closets, and their associated hardware, have been highly refined over the years. For example, flush valves have been designed to produce variable flush volumes with a high degree of product manufacturability. Similarly, fill valves have been designed with a high degree of accuracy and reliability as well as manufacturability. Notwithstanding these achievements in the art, it has become increasingly desirable to reduce the levels of sound associated with operation of the toilet and its components.
During the filling of the tank with water, noise and vibrations are produced by the fill valve. These noises are borne by the water and readily transmitted by any rigid structure. Toilet fill valves of the past have been directly mounted to the wall of the toilet tank by a shank or fill pipe through which water is received from an outside source. Water-borne noise and vibration associated with the fill valve has been readily transmitted to the wall of the toilet tank by the rigid mounting hardware used to mount the fill valve to the tank wall. These sounds and vibrations have been highly amplified by the tank structure which presents large, flat surfaces within the room.
In the past, a hole has been provided in the wall of the toilet tank and adapted to receive the shank or fill tube of the fill valve through the wall. The fill tube has been inserted through the hole from inside the tank and allowed to rest by gravity in the bottom of the hole. Hardware associated with mounting the fill tube to the tank has typically included a flange or metal washer on the inside of the tank wall, and a metal washer and threaded nut on the outside of the tank wall. These rigid connections, as well as the mere contact of the shank with the toilet wall, have easily transmitted the water-borne noise and vibrations from the fill valve to the tank. Amplification of these sounds and vibrations by the walls of the tank have resulted in a high degree of noise transmission to the room during operation of the fill valve.
These deficiencies of the prior art are overcome with the present invention which includes isolation means disposed between the fill valve and the tank for inhibiting the transmission of water-borne sound and vibration from the fill valve to the wall of the tank. This is accomplished in a preferred embodiment by placing a non-rigid material between the fill valve and the tank in order to dampen the sounds and vibrations emanating from the fill valve.
This isolation means can be any material, even air, which reduces contact between the fill valve and the tank wall. The material may be a gel or elastomeric material preferably having a durometer less than about 55 Shore A. As opposed to the metal and hard plastic materials of the past, these low durometer materials will effectively reduce the amount of noise transmitted to the tank wall during the fill operation.
In one aspect of the invention, a toilet includes a toilet bowl and toilet tank having a tank wall with a hole extending through the wall. A fill valve includes a fill tube which is mounted through the hole in the tank wall. A first washer is disposed on the fill tube interiorly of the tank wall while a second washer is disposed on the fill tube exteriorly of the tank wall. A nut engaging the fill tube is isolated from the tank wall by these washers. Centering means is provided to maintain the fill tube in a spaced relationship with the tank wall.
In another aspect of the invention, an attachment assembly engages the tank portions defining the hole as well as the fill tube of the fill valve, in order to maintain the wall and the tube in a fixed relationship and a spaced relationship. In a further aspect, the invention includes non-rigid means disposed between the tank wall and the fill tube for damping water-borne sounds and vibrations.
In still a further aspect, the invention includes a method for mounting a fill valve to the wall of the toilet. The method includes steps of providing the fill valve with a fill tube having a first diameter and forming a hole in the tank wall with a second diameter greater than the first diameter of the fill tube. A boss is mounted on the fill tube of the fill valve within the hole of the tank wall. The fill tube is inserted through the hole and coupled to the tank wall in an indirect, fixed relationship. The fill tube is isolated from direct contact with the wall of the tank.
These and other features and advantages of the invention will become more apparent with a description of preferred embodiments and reference to the associated drawings.